Rental Operations

Phocuswright released a new report called “Hail This! The Transformation of the Ground Transportation Experience for Travel,” which analyzes the impact of mobile services and new business models on the ground transportation segment.

The report found that business and leisure travelers spent $1.5 billion on mobile ride-hailing services from July 2014 to June 2015. Mobile ride-hailing is popular with urban millennials (18-34 years old) and managed business travelers.

Travelers also choose mobile ride-hailing because of convenience and service. Two-thirds of business travelers think the service is better, and one quarter chose mobile ride-hailing over other ground transportation options due to cleaner cars and safer drivers, respectively.

"Mobile ride-hailing is wildly popular with millennial travelers, and as these users age, their use of mobile ride-hailing services could mean trouble for other forms of ground transportation," said Phocuswright's senior research analyst Cathy Schetzina Walsh. "Taxis and prearranged car services are most at risk, but car rental also stands to lose managed business travelers, particularly if mobile ride-hailing players address corporate travel managers' concerns with liability and reporting."

BMW's carsharing members in Oregon and Washington are also eligible for a $10 promo code for taking a trip to stake parks by sharing a photo of their trip on Instagram, tagging @reachnow, and including the hashtag #WildWithinReach.

Over the past few years, Europcar, has become a global provider of mobility solutions, offering a wide range of services such as, car rental, van and truck rental, chauffeur services, carsharing, and peer-to-peer carsharing.